Whose Reality Essay Essay Example for Free

Whose Reality Essay Essay The brain is a crucible: a melting pot of intersecting ingredients that forges a reality that is de- ceptively the same, but often vastly different for each individual. That reality is a construct is a fashionable term these days; it means that we tend to see reality from a particular frame of reference. There is always a context, whether it be political, social or cultural. For those who are unable to construct a satisfactory reality, it is then that they are forced to create an alterna- tive reality, perhaps that fulfils their dreams and meets their views and values. In the words of cognitive neuropsychologist Kaspar Meyer, â€Å"what is now clear is that the brain is not a stimulus-driven robot that directly translates the outer world into a conscious experi- ence. What we’re conscious of is what the brain makes us be conscious of, and in the absence of incoming signals, bits of memories tucked away can be enough for a brain to get started with†. Reality for each individual differs according to their past experiences and memories, as well as what they choose to perceive to be true. Those with weaker frames of minds such as individuals suffering from mental disorders, or solely living under delusion tend to create alternative realities in order to escape the harsh truth. Consider the materialism of the post-war United States. Motivated by prosperity and wealth, all Americans were expected to achieve the profound ‘American Dream’, of which Arthur Miller critiques throughout his play ‘Death of a Salesman’. The play’s lead character Willy Loman struggles to face the true reality, but instead, chooses to believe he is leading the life he had always dreamt of. Willy believes himself to be the best salesman of his company, claiming he is â€Å"well liked† by all, and â€Å"vital in New England†, when in fact, his true reality proves to be quite the opposite. Willy struggles to pay his mortgage, as well as fails to support and provide for his family. Despite his favourite son Biff finding the words to call him out to be what he truly is â€Å"(a) fake†¦ (a) big phoney fake† and â€Å"a dime a dozen†, Willy remains ignorant towards the truth. Willy’s alternative reality provides him with the motivation to continue his life, despite the loss of his job and loss of respect from Biff. Alternative realities provide tem- porary relief from the harsh truth of reality, which is sometimes necessary for those who are considered mentally weak. It is often easier to support the alternative realities created by the mentally weak. Due to their mental state, disregarding what they believe to be true can carry several consequences. In ‘Death of a Salesman’, Willy’s wife Linda remains supportive throughout her husband’s delu- sion. He claims she is his â€Å"foundation (and) support†, which is simply conforming to the ex- pected role of a 1950’s housewife. Another example includes the 2010 movie directed by Mar- tin Scrosese titled ‘Shutter Island’, which clearly highlights the importance of accepting the al- ternative realities created by the mentally weak. The film’s protagonist Teddy Daniels believes himself to be a U. S marshal assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Bos- tons Shutter Island mental institution. However, in true fact, Teddy is actually Andrew Laed- dis, one of the institution’s most dangerous patients they have because of his delusions and his violence towards the staff and the other patients. Andrew (or Teddy’s) delusion created an alternative reality in which he was able to escape the truth about his murderous past. In order to support his alternative reality, the staff at the institution developed a scenario in which Andrew was able to live out his delusion, therefore preventing the otherwise dangerous psychological effects of his true nature. If An- drew was in fact exposed to his true reality rather than living as his alter ego, he may have not been able to survive, hence proving the importance of supporting a mentally weak individual’s alternative reality. Alternative realities may not always be negative. In these cases, the alternative reality protects the individual from harm or negative attention due exposing their true self. Consider the death of Whitney Houston, or the even more recent Robin Williams. Despite their true reality con- sisting of depression and substance abuse, these two renowned celebrities developed and maintained an alternative reality to allow others to portray them as role models and success- ful artists. In the case of Robin Williams, his severe depression led to his suicide. As a come-dian and successful actor, Williams was perceived by the majority to be a motivated happy man. In true fact, despite working to ensure other people were laughing, he was diagnosed with severe depression, to the point where he eventually took his own life. Robin William’s al- ternative reality forced others to see him as he was not, but without the negative attention of showing who he really was. In Whitney Houston’s case, despite her perception as an iconic successful singer, her alternative reality consisted of a cocaine addiction to the point where she drowned in a hotel bathtub. Following their deaths, the public was finally made aware of who they truly were, regardless of what we had previously perceived them to be. Alternative realities such as these can be crucial to ensure happiness and satisfaction for the individual, without highlighting their true selves to the world. Those who are mentally weak tend to create alternative realities in order to avoid their true selves. Whether they are living within a delusion such as Willy Loman or suffering from a mental condition such as Andrew Laeddis, (otherwise known as Teddy), alternative realities may be beneficial for the individual, however difficult for others to accept. Due to individual differences in realities due to social, emotional, cultural and political factors, each person must construct a reality that is most suitable for their views and values, even if that results in alter- native realities being created. In the words of author Mignon McLaughlin, â€Å"a critic can only re- view the book he has read, not the one in which the author wrote†, and therefore we cannot judge an individual’s choice of reality or alternative realities without experiencing it ourselves first hand.

Digital Democracy Essay -- Politics Media Internet Technology Essays

Digital Democracy Over the years the media has made citizens major role players in politics. Ross Perot opened eyes by putting the 1992 Election in the media and thereby allowing voters to become directly involved in politics. The Internet, the new form of mass media â€Å"has turned into a major political and media industry† (Grossman 16). Because of the rise the Internet has taken, the idea of direct democracy has risen. The foundation of direct democracy is in self-government. The claim is that the presence of the Internet will increase citizens’ involvement in political issues by allowing them access to more information. This is significant because it takes a look at the impact of technology on society and politics, as well by looking at politics from the average persons’ perspective. It is my position, however that although the Internet will make citizens more informed this would actually work to deter people from participating in politics. Through the greater establi shment of community and trust among citizens will we find the desire to participate in government and politics. Currently, our government is based on a representative form of democracy, where citizens choose representatives to make decisions on their behalf. This is a type of self-government because â€Å"by choosing those who would govern them, the people would also, in effect, be governing themselves† (Grossman 40). However, with the coming of the Internet age and a higher prospect of self-government, representative democracy could soon become obsolete, being replaced by direct democracy. Direct Democracy was first introduced by The Athenians as a form of government back in fifth century BC. Direct Democracy allowed the citizens to make the rules as w... ...e nationwide disaster. Our best hope at creating a better democracy is to focus on rebuilding the community. Before we can put things in place that are meant to reconstruct society, we must first fix the foundation upon which this nation was built, and that is community. Works Cited: Bimber, Bruce. â€Å"The Internet and Political Transformation: Populism, Community, and Accelerated Pluralism.† Polity 31(1): 133-160. Davis, Richard. The Web of Politics. New York: Oxford Press, 1999. Davison, Donald E. New Democracy: A New Democracy means a more Direct Democracy. 1 April 2001. 27 September 2001. . Grossman, Lawrence K. The Electronic Republic. New York: Penguin Group, 1995. Kamarck, Elaine, and Joseph S. Nye, Jr. democracy.com: Governance in a Networked World. Hollis, NH: Hollis Publishing, 1999.

Reading Strategies Essay

Reading is an essential skill in human life. People are trained to learn how to read at very early age and they read with many purposes such as reading for pleasure or reading to earn experience or simply to know what is happening around them. In academic setting, reading is assumed to be the central means for learning new information and gaining access to alternative explanations. Reading also provides people with the foundation for synthesis and critical evaluation skill. In addition, reading is the primary means for independent learning, whether the goal is performing better on academic tasks, learning more about subject matter, or improving language abilities (Grabe and Stoller, as cited in Celce-Murcia, 2001). However, according to Dr. Kathleen King (Reading Strategies, n. d. ) for students at college, reading is a new experience although they have been reading for more than 12 years at school or for pleasure. In addition, academic reading is not easy; therefore, it is extremely difficult for academic students to achieve complex goals without reading strategies. Supporting to this idea, (Hawkins, 1991, cited in Celce-Murcia) also said that â€Å"Of all the skills that the child must acquire in school, reading is the most complex and difficult†. Therefore, English Second Language students are surely unavoidable to face some problems. Firstly, learners may be good at understanding separate words or even each sentence, but fail to understand the relationships between the sentences and the meaning of the text as a whole. Next, they do not have necessary knowledge about what they read. And the most important problem is that they lack necessary reading strategies. English Second Language students need to learn reading strategies because their comprehension breaks down easily. They need different ways to approach reading to help facilitate the reading process and provide them with a better sense of what they are reading (Reading strategies for ESL Students, n. d. ). Reading strategies are the most effective means to help them deal with obstacles in reading and become a better reader. Furthermore, with practice, the strategies lead to skills that become automatic and quick over time (McNamara and Danielle, 2009). But for students at the college, reading is not simply to do the task and reading passage is often longer than it is at high school meanwhile not all of them know the reading strategies and how to use them effectively. So, teaching reading strategies for students becomes necessary. That is the reason why the researcher choose â€Å"reading strategies for academic students† as a topic to do the research with the hope of improving the effect of their reading. CHAPTER II: LITERATURE II. 1. Definition of Strategies Brown (2001) defined strategies as specific methods to solve a problem or task, as modes of activity to reach a particular end or intentional designs to control or manipulate certain information. He stated that strategies differentiate within an individual and that a person can use a variety of strategies to achieve his or her goal. Oxford (as cited in Oxford, 2003, p. 8) defined strategies as follows: â€Å"The word â€Å"strategies† comes from the ancient Greek word strategia, which means steps or actions taken for the purpose of winning a war. The warlike meaning of strategia, has fortunately fallen away but the control and directedness remains in the version of the word. † He believed that whether a strategy is helpful or not depends on the specific context in which it is appropriately used. In order to use a strategy effectively, learners have to consider three important conditions: whether the strategy relates well to the second language task at hand, whether the strategy fits the particular students’ learning style preferences to one degree or another, or whether the students employ the strategy and link it with other strategies well. II. 2. Distinction between Strategies and Skills Strategies can be defined as conscious actions that learners take to achieve desired goals or objectives, while a skill is a strategy that has become automatic. As learners consciously learn and practice specific reading strategies, the strategies move from conscious to unconscious; from strategy to skill (Nunan, 2003). Strategic reading is defined as the ability of the reader to use a wide variety of reading strategies to accomplish a purpose for reading (Nunan, 2003). Strategic reading means not only knowing what strategy to use, but knowing how to use and integrate a range of strategies (Anderson, 1991). II. 3. Difference Strategic Readers from Poor Readers (Reading Strategies, n. d. ) |1. Before Reading, Strategic Readers †¦ |Poor Readers †¦ | |? Build up their own background knowledge about reading and the |? Start reading without thinking about the process of reading or the| |topic |topic. | |? Set purposes for reading. |? Do not know why they are reading but merely view the task as | |? Determine methods for reading, according to their purposes. |â€Å"ground to cover†. | |2. During Reading, Strategic Readers †¦ |Poor Readers †¦ | |? Give their complete attention to the reading task. |? Do not eliminate distractions from reading. | |? Check their own understanding constantly. |? Do not know whether they understand. | |? Monitor their reading comprehension and do it so often that it |? Do not recognize when comprehension has broken down. | |becomes automatic. |? Seldom use fix-up strategies to improve comprehension. | |? Stop to use a fix-up strategy when they do not understand. |? Skip or ignore meanings of unfamiliar but crucial words. | |? Use semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic cues to construct |? Do not integrate text with prior knowledge. | |meanings of unfamiliar words. |? Read without reflecting on meaning or text organization | |? Synthesize during reading. | | |? Ask questions. | | |? Talk to themselves during reading. | | |3. After Reading, Strategic Readers †¦ |Poor Readers †¦ | |? Decide if they have achieved their goals for reading. |? Do not know what they have read. | |? Evaluate their understanding of what was read. |? Do not follow reading with comprehension self-check. | |? Summarize the major ideas. |? Rely exclusively on the author’s words. | |? Seek additional information from outside sources. |? Do not go beyond a surface examination of the text. | |? Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant ideas. |? Apply no conscious strategies to help them remember. | |? Paraphrase the text what they have learned. | | |? Reflect on and personalize the text. | | |? Critically examine the text. | | |? Integrate new understandings and prior knowledge. | | |? Use study strategies to retain new knowledge. | | II. 4. Some Methods for Teaching Reading Strategies Reading Strategies (n.d. ) separates reading lesson into three stages and has some ideas about activities for each stage. II. 4. 1. Before Reading activities should emphasize methods of merging reader, text, and content –enabling students to set appropriate reading purposes, recall related prior knowledge, preview and predict what the text will be about, and select reading methods to suit their purposes and the text. Included in these considerations may be readers’ decisions to expand their background knowledge through related discussion, exploration of key concepts, or related reading. II. 4. 2. During Reading: activities should enable students to monitor their comprehension through a variety of strategies and experience and acquire diverse fix-up strategies to improve their understanding where necessary. II. 4. 3. After Reading: activities should teach students to review their understanding of text, relate new ideas to their background knowledge, revisit the text to clarify and extend meanings, make responsible interpretations and criticisms of ideas from the text, revise their thinking, apply the information to other texts and disciplines, and remember crucial learning for future application. II. 5. Some Techniques for Teaching Reading Strategies Reading Strategies (n. d. ) also gives some techniques to teach reading strategies II. 5. 1. Some Techniques for Teaching Before-Reading Strategies Before reading, strategic readers: * Preview the text by looking at the title, the pictures, and the print in order to evoke relevant thoughts and memories. * Build background by activating appropriate prior knowledge through self –questioning about what they already know about the topic (or story), the vocabulary, and the form in which the topic (or story) is presented. * Set purposes for reading by asking questions about what they want to learn during the reading process. II. 5. 2. Some Techniques for Teaching During-Reading Strategies During reading, strategic readers: * Check understanding of the text by paraphrasing the author’s words. * Monitor comprehension and use fix-up strategies: use the cueing systems to figure out unknown words and imaging, imagining, inferencing, and predicting. * Integrate new concepts with existing knowledge: continually revise purpose for reading. II. 5. 3. Some Techniques for Teaching After-Reading Strategies. After reading, strategic readers: * Summarize what they have read by retelling the plot of the story or the main idea of the text. * Interpret and evaluate the ideas contained in the text. * Make applications of the ideas in the text to unique situations, extending the ideas to broader perspectives. * Use study strategies for note taking, locating, and remembering to improve content – area learning. II. 6. Kinds of Strategy Before students begin their next reading assignment, identify their purpose for reading. According to the reader’s different purposes, he or she will choose the appropriate reading style. Therefore, there are a variety of strategies. II. 6. 1. Study Reading The Study Reading is used when the readers intend to read difficult material at a high level of comprehension. This reading style says that because of the material at a high level of comprehension the readers should read the material more than once and sometimes reading the material aloud also improves their comprehension. (Becoming a Flexible Reader, n. d. ) II. 6. 2. Skimming When the reader’s purpose is to quickly obtain a general idea about the reading material, he or she is suggested to use skimming style. This strategy is extremely useful if the readers want to read a large amount of material in a short amount of time by two ways: identify the main ideas and ignore the details. (Becoming a Flexible Reader, n. d. ) II. 6. 3. Scanning Contrastively, the scanning style is used when their purpose is to quickly locate a specific piece of information within reading material. To scan, the readers mostly focus on a list of names, words, numbers, short statements, and sometimes even in a paragraph. (Becoming a Flexible Reader, n. d. ) II. 6. 4. SQRW. According to A Strategies for Reading Textbooks (n. d. ), it divides strategies into four-steps, called SQRW. Each letter stands for one step in the strategy. Using SQRW will help readers to understand what they read and to prepare a written record of what they learned. The written record will be valuable when readers have to participate in a class discussion and again when they study for a test. Read to learn what to do for each step in SQRW. ( Survey This strategy brings to mind what the readers already know about the topic of a chapter and prepares them for learning more. The readers do survey by reading the title, introduction, headings, and the summary or conclusion or they will examine all visuals such as pictures, tables, maps, and/or graphs and read the caption. By survey, the readers quickly learn what the chapter is about. ( Question Questions give the readers a purpose for reading and help them stay focused on the reading assignment. To form questions, the readers base on a heading and use the words who, what, when, where, why, or how. When a heading contains more than one idea, form a question for each idea. Do not form questions for the Introduction, Summary, or Conclusion. ( Read Read the information that follows each heading to find the answer to each question readers formed. They may change a question or turn it into several questions to be answered. Readers need to stay focused and flexible so they can gather as much information as they need to answer each question. ( Write Write each question and its answer in your notebook. Reread each of your written answers to be sure each answer is legible and contains all the important information needed to answer the question. CHAPTER III: APPLICATION III. 1. For Students Here are some suggestions for students to apply before, during and after-reading in order to become strategic readers. There are two things that students need to prepare before they read. First of all, it is the reading environment. Students had better to choose a quiet place which is far away from making noise. They would be distract by it and cannot concentrate well on what they read. Moreover, a place gives them an attitude to be ready to read. Besides the place, readers also pay attention to have small things as pen or paper in hand. These things help them take note immediately what they read on the text when the ideas come out in the mind before they quickly disappear. Before reading, firstly it is necessary for English Second Language students to set a goal for reading. This activity will keep them focus on what they read and prevent them from wandering around the text. Secondly, they should activate prior knowledge. It means that students brainstorm what they already know about the topic. Combination between prior knowledge and new text help them understand more about the topic. Last but not least, according to their purposes, they choose suitable methods for reading. Appropriate strategies help them read and achieve their goals quickly. While reading is the stage which students apply all their known strategies to read quickly but effectively. For example, strategic readers do not read the text from the beginning to the end; instead they skim it quickly to have an overview or to get main ideas about what they are going to read. It means that those students would read the introduction or every first line of each paragraph before going to read the whole passage. Next, when students read in detail, they should underline the information which they feel interested in and take notes or  highlight for easy to review important points later. In addition, it is important for students to remember to use what their background knowledge and their brainstorming about the text in before reading and see whether the old information fits the text, whether their prediction is correct or need changing. Moreover, if they have any difficulties with reading the text, slow down their reading speed and reread the information with more care. In case, it is too difficult to understand, highlight it for going back later, then skip it and move forward. Finally, college students are often required to read a lot with difficult vocabulary, so they should break down the assignment into many small sections, for example, ten pages for each reading times and manage to finish reading these sections instead of the whole. This strategy gives students more concentrated on what they read and prevents them from getting frustrated and disappointed. It is not simply to finish the reading task, learners should go beyond. And after reading is a stage for them to do so. First of all, students need to draw a conclusion. They turn back and think about what predictions they made before and during reading by reviewing the text. Also, they had better look back to consider how the information read related to their background knowledge and decide whether they achieve their goal. Secondly, students should take notes what they have read by writing a summary. This summary contains the main ideas, the important information or simply just a list of ideas getting from the reading. This activity is very helpful for the readers to maintain new knowledge for later use. Lastly, this stage also gives students a chance to discuss what they do not understand about the text. Students will mark anything that makes them confused and bring it to class and talk with their friends in order to clarify it. III. 2. For the Reading Teachers It takes a long time for students to become strategic readers and reading teachers play an important role in helping their students read quickly but effectively. Therefore, teachers are suggested to take these considerations. First of all, teachers themselves need to have a full awareness of great benefits which strategies could bring to their students, then the introduction of strategies, their practice, and their uses should be part of  every reading lesson because a strategy can be only applied well when teachers frequently explain, model it carefully, then give them enough opportunities to practice. However, for any approach to strategy development, teachers should remember to introduce only a few strategies at a time until students feel confident to use the strategies. And in each reading lesson, separate application of each strategy does not give a lot of help, so teachers should encourage students to combine some strategies together to get the best results. Moreover, teachers should be well-prepared the lesson beforehand. The aim of this preparation is to figure out which strategies are used in the lesson, then the teachers will carefully prepare suitable activities for each stage of a reading lesson. For example, in before-reading stage, teachers give activities such as True/ False Prediction, Brainstorming to help students have some general ideas about what they are going to read. For while-reading stage, teachers use Answer the Questions, Choose the Main Ideas to check their comprehension. For after-reading stage, the activities could be Summary, Discussion or Retelling what they have read. Additionally, when reading process takes place, reading teachers monitor the students’ expertise and independent application of the strategies. If there are many students feeling unsure about using the strategies, teachers stop their work, reintroduce and give them more practice. Finally after every reading times, teachers ask students to record their ability in applying strategies to assess their own growth. CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION During teaching process, most of reading teachers give more time and emphasis on testing reading comprehension than teaching readers how to comprehend. Therefore, this small research has been done to offer an overview of different strategies to reading and application for practice. All of strategies can be brought into play in an efficient way in the teaching and acquiring reading skill. Simultaneously, it helps both teachers and students recognize the significant advantages of mastering reading strategies. With careful discussion about most of strategies used in three main reading stages: before, during and after reading, hopefully this research is a source of reference for reading teachers and students. REFERENCES A Strategies for Reading Textbooks, (n. d. ). Retrieved December 3rd, 2010 from http://www. how-to-study. com/study-skills/en/studying/40/a-strategy-for-reading-textbooks/ Anderson, N. J. (1991). Individual Differences in Strategy Use in Second Language Reading and Testing. Modern Language Journal, 75: 460-472. Becoming a Flexible Reader, (n. d. ). Retrieved December 3rd, 2010 from http://www. how-to-study. com/study-skills/en/studying/33/becoming-a-flexible-reader/ Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles- An interactive approach to language pedagogy. (2nd ed. ). NY: Longman, pp 384-387. Dr. Kathleen King, (n. d. ). Reading Strategies, Lecture from University. Retrieved December 14th, 2010 from http://www. isu. edu/~kingkath/readstrt. html Grabe, W. , Stoller, F. L. (2001). Reading for Academic Purpose: Guidelines for the ESL/ EFL Teacher, In Celce-Murcia, M. (Ed. ), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. (3rd ed). Boston: Heinle, pp. 187-204. Hawkins, B. , (2001). Teaching Children to Read in a Second Language. In Celce-Murcia, M. (Ed. ), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. (2rd ed). Boston: Heinle. McNamara, Danielle S. (2009). The importance of teaching reading strategies, The Perspectives on Language and Literacy. Retrieved December 14th, 2010 from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_7694/is_200904/ai_n32423755 Nunan, D. (Ed. ) (2003). Practical English Language Teaching. Singapore: McGraw Hill. Oxford, R. L. (2003). Language Learning Styles and Strategies. Retrieved February 28, 2008, from web. ntpu. edu. tw/~language/workshop/read2. pdf Reading Strategies, (n. d. ). Retrieved December 10th, 2010 from http://98. 130. 215. 11/articles/6%20Strategic%20Reading. pdf.

A Vital Contributor To The Competitiveness Business Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3082 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? A supply chain management which is effective is a vital contributor to the competitiveness of any firm generally and in order for the organization to witness long term success, innovation is a crucial factor. Business innovations regardless of whether they are in process or product form, are seldom accomplished in an organization which is single rather, they are often formed through interactions with other members of the supply chain. Owing to the slowdown in economic and the increasing activities in acquisition and mergers being witnessed, organizations are faced with quite a number of challenges in the processes of procurement and supply chain management (Burton, 1995). Therefore, managing innovations across supply chains is not an easy task since it is faced with a number of challenges. In trying to comprehend the main challenges faced , understanding of various issues such as; does Service supply chains face different challenges compared to supply chains focused on physical goods, do emerging industries have different priorities compared to mature industries and do buyer  ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½supplier power relations have significant impact arise( Milgrom, Roberts, 1992). Main Challenges in managing innovation across supply chains. Supply chain management has witnessed various changes within the past decades. One of the factors that have changed is that the market in supply chain management has become more complex and competitive. In addition to that, the customers in this field have also become more distinguishing. Consequently, the system has become global due to the changes that have occurred in the international business and economic environment. Furthermore, the management of supply chain has become of great importance since majority of the firms have appreciated the fact that the supply chain is a major factor in creating competitive advantage (Dicken, 2003). The supply chain has become a major strategy differentiation among diffe rent organizations This is because, The satisfaction of the end user consumer has become of great importance in the management of supply chains with the reduction of the total supply chain costs.. The objectives of firms to become more cost competitive has led to the creation of more robust supply chains by organizations (Skinner, 1969). This means that organizations that will fail to deal with these innovations will eventually collapse considering they are operating in a highly dynamic business environment. The core factors that will lead to the success of these organizations are the development of competitive supply chain management strategies. This, in turn, will provide a basis of change across the supply chain (Forrester, Soriano-Meier, 2002). It should be understood that in adapting to changes, changes should not just be for the sake of it. These changes should occur in an innovative and different manner in the processes of the supply chain. The word innovation means ne w. These means that organizations should create new strategies in their supply chain management strategies. These new strategies that have been adopted should also be better that the earlier strategies which the organization had implemented (Bamford, Forrester, 2003). In innovation, there are four areas which have been identified that lead to the success in an organization. Making innovations in the supply chain management integration is the first step to take in the supply chain management. Any organization that has the will to succeed will make innovations in their supply chain management must commence with these steps. In addition to that, the ICT sector has been of great importance in the supply chain management. Various tools which have been generated by the ICT sector have been of great importance to the supply chain management. These tools have been known to be of great importance as they have proved to be time saving and cost effective. If integrated effectively, these t ools will assist the organization to meet its set aims and objectives (Hines, 1994). If organizations focus on implementing and integrating these technologies in a strategic manner, then it is with no doubt that they will hit top notch. This will ensure that the full potential of the organization is achieved. In addition to that, there is also need for the supply chain activities to implement strategies that focus on environmental sustainability. Organizations need to focus on the challenges and their possible solutions that will promote environmental sustainability (Verma Boyer 2010). Therefore, in managing innovation across supply chains the main challenges arise in the sectors of; Innovation in Supply Chain Integration, ICT Supply Chain Innovation, Sustainability Innovation and Innovation in Supply System Management (Williamson, 1998). Innovation in Supply Chain Integration The modernized prototype in supply chain management focuses mainly on the concept of integrati on. Where in this context, integration is concerned primarily with substituting old supply chain configurations, (which were frequently characterized by lofty levels of fragmentations), with innovative approaches (which are characterized by elements in supply chain that are different and they work in a seamless fashion together).The notion in integration can be reflected on at numerous levels. However, the primary ones usually considered are the external (interaction involving diverse entities downstream and upstream in the supply chain) and internal (integration of processes and activities within organizations) (Slack, Brandon-Jones Johnston 2010). In focusing supply chain integration, to the wider approach of supply chain management, it is evident that any useful effort which focuses on improving the performance and capability of supply chain should have its focus on innovation in this regard. Therefore, challenges are usually identified by the full comprehension of the dynamic s of the business environment and the benefits and drawbacks of present supply chain architectures. In terms of solutions, it is imperative to identify that each supply chain is distinctive and it needs innovation which is suitable to the situation which is being considered (Prahalad, Hamel, 1990). This distinctiveness usually relates to people processes and products. Recognizing the suitable form of supply chain, change should focus on in depth issues related to the unique characteristics of an organisation plus the environment which it operates in, more so, in the integration of supply chain. Making out the apt solution necessitates that the course of supply chain planning and analysis is done in a systematic and logical manner with appropriate attention to elements. Plans in integration should be implemented properly particularly in regards to other people and cultural related features of the innovation process (Nelson, 1991). ICT Supply Chain Innovation In the past dec ades, technological innovations have had an effect on supply chain management and logistics. Consequently, the main reason for change in the field is the advancement of communication and information. Researches that have been carried out display the probable role of ICT in invading the entire supply chain. This will not only enable the integration of processes and functions of a sole organization but also to the customers and suppliers with long-term and broad implication for a company ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s competitive advantage (NAE, 2008). ICT is seen as one of the major outstanding fields in the supply chain. A considerable number of growing organizations have taken on novel technologies and informative systems which support their operations in supply chain management and logistics, for instance, General Electric, Dell and Wal-Mart. The major benefits accomplished by these organizations relate to ultimately visibility, shortened inventories and time cycle, improved efficacy in di stribution channels and minimized effect of the bullwhip (Rumelt, 1997). Therefore, ICT has an intense effect on the supply chain management since novel technologies facilitate greatly in the information flow, extend power over distant operations and across organizational margins and automate retorts. Consequently the implementation of novel technological innovations and the outcomes associated with precise types of ICT-linked innovations are of vital interest to the diverse categories of organizations which operate in the same supply chain network (Teece, et al. 1997). Although information technology aptitudes are important for differentiation in logistic service and a device of minimizing costs, plus attend to customers effectively through customization of better services, the implementation of ICT is a major challenge for logistic service providers mainly for the for the medium and small logistic service providers. Owing to deficiency in resources, these organizations displ ay difficulties in the usage and implementation of ICT (Nelson, 1991). Small logistic service organizations provide a number of implications to supply chain innovation. Proximity to the clients is a significant source of mutual innovation. The amalgamation of technology and service strategy is a vital component in motivating supply chain in small and medium logistic service provider in supply chain innovation for a differentiation advantage to be obtained from the usage of ICT, the centre of medium and small logistic service providers, the technological venture has to be on the usages of ICT slightly than on technology Womack, J. and (Jones, 1996). An additional challenge which is usually faced by service providers is in the changing requirements in service production. Equipment utilization, capacity and visibility, minimization of transportation and inventory costs, observation of security in supply chain and control in the environment are progressively being demanded more by customers of logistic services. The implementation of innovations in ICT in these fields might offer solutions to operational (processes and functions) and strategic echelon (capital development, knowledge human and technology) to levels in organization and firm and more so several of the innovations might have environmental effects (Hamilton, Feenstra, 1998). A major challenging field in supply chain management is ambiguity. Reducing produce lifecycle and rapid changing buyer demand for services and goods lead to more vague and intricate environment. Applications in ICT might offer answers in managing and explaining ambiguity in supply chain circumstances. It is also applicable to radio frequency identification in the industry of retail. This area is experiencing a paradigm budge in the management of unpreserved goods, which have inadequate shelf life that make it hard for decisions in supply chain thus elevated loss rates are experienced (Hayes, et al 2005). Radio frequenc y identification (RFID) might offer pertinent information which can help in identifying the process of deterioration of goods visible and predictable at the prime stages of supply chain. RFID applications can be used by Inventive retailers to minimize expense and risks linked with instability in energy expenses and demand. This innovation has affirmative effects on liability of losses in the supply chain and suggestions for options in buy-back and contracts. (Milgrom, Roberts, 1992). Additionally, ambiguity has an effect on inventory management. This is a task which is challenging I supply chain management owing to the complexity in approximating demand, particularly in novel goods. Additionally, erratic demand and dynamic delivery location make it a challenge for stock control (Shi Gregory, 1998). This matters regularly consequence in elevator expenses in inventory, insufficient resource allotment and sluggish retort to the client. An innovative answer for improving invento ry management must be based on a combination of theory and technology (Zhang, et al. 2008). Mixing RFID application for assembling data (so as to optimize inventory level in the supply chain) and synthetic neural network for data scrutiny (to predict prospect demand) it is likely to attain economically competent and lean supply chain management (Lamming, Cox, 1997). In the previous years, intelligent freight transportation system (IFTS) has been extensively utilized to optimize operations in logistics and transport. It brings up potentialities to overcome numerous challenges in this field by augmenting planning, control and monitoring abilities. However, its strategic latent has not been evaluated past solely operational remunerations. Integrating the major components of IFTS (smart infrastructure, vehicles and products) might offer answers to enhance the usage of these systems which are innovative and offer the base for an evaluation which is more solid on their outcomes in logistics and transport operations (Hines, 1994). Sustainability Innovation The demand on organizations to advance their sustainability in the environment is gradually increasing. Diverse sources like government agencies at local, regional, national and multi-national levels are tapering environmental laws and initiating novel outlines of green taxation and presenting more reasons for organizations to clear out their operations. Customers have turned out to be more conscious of environmental matters thus accounting for them in their purchasing verdicts (Porter, 2001). Stakeholders mainly employees and investors also have a strong interest in ensuring their organizations have environmental standards which are elevated. Whereas the objectives of the company is to become greener, it is affecting most business features particularly supply chain management and logistics since their activities are environmental intrusive and geographical extensive (Grant, 2010) The freight mov ement is the main emitter of other air toxins and greenhouse gases, Traffic accidents and noise disturbance. A majority of the expenses are peripheral to an organization ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s balance sheet and they come from the ecosystem and community. Citizens benefit from the logistic services but they make out that the process of delivery is bad for the environment. They do not appreciate the changes that have been made so far (Dicken, 2003). These upgrading in the environment is from a variety of innovations which are operational and technical. One of the challenges in this area is the effectual ways of escalating the environmental maintenance of road freight transport. If authorized restrictions on truck dimensions and weight are Tranquil they would allow organizations to merge freight in a less number of deliveries. The proficiency of organizations which allow the usage of heavier and longer vehicles reveal that they present a combination of environmental, safety and economic benefits (Foss, 1997). In Europe, Suggestions to extend the usage of longer and heavier vehicles, has been met with a lot of oppositions from environmental groups and railway interests. This shows how the diffusion of a main innovation in transport is hindered by political lobbying and government laws. The public sector ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s role additionally features in reviewing the prospective of urban consolidation centres to rationalize the budging of freight in urban centres. Though the first urban consolidation centres came out in 1970, since then they have been the focus of many viability studies. It ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s only recently that their operational and commercial feasibility has been established in construction and retail areas (Fisher, 1997). An additional analyzed challenge, centres on the return budge of waste products from urban centres. A variety of repeal innovations in logistics that can advance the effectiveness and lessen the impacts of environment on the return surge of waste for disposal, recycling have been evaluated. If these measures are implemented successfully, it can make reusing more attractive commercially and increase its yielding and uptake thus benefiting the environment (Hill Hill 2011). The projected answers are based on diverse equipment, regulatory and operational innovations which range in the integration of streams which carry household and commercial wastes to the introduction of technology which is smart bin (Christopher, 2000). A large percentage of logistics expenses are now outsourced. Logistic service providers can control directly much of the handling, storage plus movement of goods, across supply chains. A number of service providers identify that innovations in the environment can be a competitive factor however reviews display that a number are disenchanted by their customer ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s lack of concern in the environmental schemes. Logistic service providers ought to be given incentives whi ch are stronger so as to increase portfolios in the green services and collaborations which are closer between customers and logistic service providers on recommended environmental programs (Fisher, 1997). Innovation in Supply System Management At international and national level, Massive changes have been observed in client-supplier relationships. These transformations are on a variety of relationship features. A number of them include: the item of business between supplier and clients, for instance, complex systems, components and parts; the functions of the organization entailed in the relationship supply, for instance, marketing, design, production and planning; the suppliers aptitude necessitated by the client, for instance, managerial, logistics and technical; the level of collaboration and trust which maintains the relationship (Allwright, Oliver, 1993). There are four major identified phases of client -supplier relationships. They include; traditional supply (1960s 1970s); supply system development (1980s); strategic alliance (1990s) and globalization (2000 and beyond). As seen in the evolutional changes client-supplier relationships have undergone radical procedures of innovation and new challenges focused on the hunt for effectiveness and efficiency. There are a number of challenges which face innovation in supply system management. However the main ones include, executing of discontinuous innovation in supply chain relationships, the answer to this problem is that it is essential to focus beyond the personal psychological barriers and company related issues. An analysis that is multileveled is required so as to appreciate fully the intricacy of the occurrence of discontinuous innovation executions in supply chain relationships (Cox, 2001) Another challenge focuses on the possible use of formal models in supply evaluation of strategic management of the entire supply system. There are a number of valid reasons why formalized models sh ould be used compared to qualitative approaches. These issues relate managerial, motivation, transparency and learning. In this manner the client been made possible to run the entire supply chain plus regularly realign the objectives of the supplier with his or her own targets (Ford, et al. 2003) An additional challenge entails the notion of ideal client status as a way of formulating supply side induced benefits in supplier markets which are highly competitive. This displays the significance of being an ideal client mainly in a novel context of a product development. The notion here is that executing an idea clients policy in purchasing firms might perk up circumstances of innovating with suppliers (Emerson, 1962). Another challenge involves the humanity side of the supply chain and its function in risks associated with supply chain management. From a perspective which is behavioural, approaches which are innovative and include behavioural studying in supply chain management and design can considerably put in reduction of risks in supply chain by accounting for personal biases and attitudes of the verdict maker (Porter, 1980). The final challenge relates to management of risks as an approach which is strategic in advancing outsourcing in logistics. This implies that risk management can be an innovative devise which will facilitate the triumph of logistics outsourcing by safe guarding potential relationships and performances between partners in the supply chain (Sanderson, 2009). Conclusion In conclusion, it is quite evident that many organizations face a number of Challenges in managing innovation across supply chains. Service supply chains face different challenges compared to supply chains focused on physical goods, emerging industries have different priorities compared to mature industries and buyer  ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½supplier power relations have significant impact. The main challenges which face the management of innovation across chain sup plies are divided in to four fields of innovation. They include Innovation in Supply Chain Integration, Innovation in Supply System Management, Sustainability Innovation and ICT Supply Chain Innovation. If these main challenges in innovation are dealt with effectively then organizations will be able to manage their innovations across supply chains effectively. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Vital Contributor To The Competitiveness Business Essay" essay for you Create order